Return to Dinosaur Planet
by Galadriadhar
Summary: Upon receiving a mission from Corneria, Star Fox heads to Sauria to recover a shipment of fuel cells. In order to accomplish their mission, they have to take on Finzera, an emergent dictator, who has stolen the cells. In the process of revising....
1. Crash Landing

Return to Dinosaur Planet

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 1: Crash Landing

In a distant corner of the Lylat System, the "Great Fox" silently drifted through space. Manned by the legendary mercenary team StarFox, it floated while the team waited for the next assignment. Peppy Hare sat at the map station, charting courses. Slippy Toad worked on his latest invention. Krystal, the newest foxy member of StarFox, practiced her martial-staff-arts. She had traded in her old clothing for a tunic the color of her fur. ROB stood by at the controls, guiding the ships systems. Then, there was Fox McCloud, legendary leader, sitting in his chair... napping. Every so often he would wake up to a beep, and one of his teammates would say, "No, that is not General Pepper." Then he would fall back to sleep.

Fox had just returned from a political meeting on Corneria. Frankly, he disliked politics, but there was money, so he took the job as "riot calmer." Afterwards he swore never again to go to a politics meeting. "It was dead boring," he said. "All they did was talk about how to deal with the pollution. They didn't even get anywhere close to a solution."

Just then, a large "beeeeep" sounded. Fox woke up with a start. He fumbled around for a bit, and pressed the receive button on the pad next to him. A dog's face filled the screen.

"Hello, Fox," General Pepper said. "We have a new assignment for you."

"I'm listening."

"About two days ago a large shipment of fuel cells was hijacked above Dinosaur Planet. We believe it was the work of General Finzer. He is the new dictator of that planet. Your assignment is to go and recover the hijacked fuel cells. This mission requires cunning, strength, and feminine charm. That is why you, Fox, and Krystal will go on this mission together."

"Can I take my blaster this time?" Fox asked.

"No, you may not," Pepper replied. "However, we do have a weapon for you. Thanks to Krystal, we were able to make a duplicate of her staff at its full power. Since you used her staff so excellently last time, we are sending you the duplicate right now. Here it comes. Good luck." Pepper disappeared right as a staff exactly like Krystal's popped out of the teleportation chamber. Krystal took it from Fox's hands and examined it.

"It's exactly like mine," she said. "Except, of course, that this has red glowing ends. It's probably so that we don't get confused. Here," she said, handing it to Fox. A jolt rocked the ship. The "Great Fox" was entering the asteroid belt surrounding the planet.

"Battle stations," Fox cried. "Vaporize those rocks." Krystal, Slippy, and Peppy ran to their posts. "ROB, turn the piloting over to me." Fox grabbed the controls and deftly swerved around the asteroids. The three in the laser turrets blasted away at the rocks. One tiny rock got past Slippy and dinged the engine casing. It was enough to send engine coolant leaking into space. Without the coolant, the engine overheated and burst into vacuum flames. The ship began spiraling down to the planet. All hurried to get in their seats and fasten their belts before they crashed. Asteroids peppered the ship, making dents all over the place. They entered the atmosphere and crashed.

Fox sat there, dazed for a moment, then climbed out of the ship. One by one, Krystal, Slippy, and Peppy climbed out after him. Krystal was overjoyed that everyone was safe, so she ran around giving her friends hugs. She saved the last one for Fox, and it was the biggest one. She held him for a moment, and then let go, looking embarrassed that others had seen.

They scooted off the ship, and surveyed the damage. Two wings with their engines had been completely torn off the ship, and the cockpit glass was shattered.

"Great," Fox commented sarcastically. "Just great."

"Fox?" A mysterious voice said. "You're back?"


	2. Happy and NotsoHappy Reunions

Chapter 2: Happy and Not-so-Happy Reunions

"You're back?" The mysterious voice said again. Fox turned around. There, in front of him, was an Earthwalker with the StarFox insignia on his top horn. Fox's jaw dropped.

"Tricky?"

"Yep. It's me! I knew you would come back soon, but I didn't expect it to be this soon," Tricky replied.

Peppy laughed at Fox's dumbfounded expression. "Ha ha, Fox, what happened, cat got your tongue?" The fox closed his mouth and glared at Peppy.

"No. I'm just amazed at how much Tricky's grown." Turning to the dinosaur, Fox asked, "How are you doing, Prince Tricky?"

Tricky laughed. "It's King Tricky now, Fox. But that's okay. You can just call me Tricky. And I'm doing fine, to answer your question."

"W-wait!" Fox said, suddenly realizing something. "Tricky, did you learn our language?"

"Yes, I did. I found a book about the Cornerian language on the ground after you left. I read it, and bam, I had learned your speech." Tricky proclaimed proudly.

Slippy slapped his knee. "Drat, that's where my dictionary went. Fox, you didn't tell me that you were borrowing it." Fox shrugged.

"Ah, well. I'll buy you a new one. How's the family?" he asked.

Suddenly, the Earthwalker became serious. "Well, Dad's great. But Mom is.. Well, you should probably come see." Tricky turned and started walking to the palace. The team looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him into the Walled City. Krystal ran ahead.

"What happened to the Queen, Tricky?" she asked.

Tricky looked around. "Krystal, can you keep a secret?" The vixen nodded. "Well, Mom has Reguterenza. It's a terrible disease. The virus slowly eats away the victim's innards. I've tried everything. All the others think that I know what to do, but I don't. I've tried white grubtub fungus, jiklon weed, and fileriot grass. Nothing works. That's why I'm taking you to see her. I believe that you especially will know what to do, since you are a telepath and can speak Saurian."

Krystal shrugged. "I'll see what I can do," she promised.

The group finally arrived at the hut where Tricky's mother was. Krystal went in first, and all the others listened while she talked with the sick dinosaur. Then, there was silence while Krystal used her telepathic ability to read "Mom's" mind. When she came out, Krystal looked grim.

"I spoke with her, and she told me that the pain was unbearable. When I looked into her mind, I saw that the only possible cure is death." Tricky gasped. "But, I also saw that there is one way that she might get better. The mythical Trekarian Flower is supposed to cure every disease. The flower supposedly grows on the tip of Mount Trichur. No one has ever made it to the top, so it is just a legend for now."

"Fox, I beg you, please go to Mount Trichur for me." Tricky pleaded. Fox glanced at Krystal, who nodded.

"All right, I'll go. Krystal can handle the mission by herself. The "feminine charm" will come in handy. Meanwhile, I will take Tricky to Trichur to find the flower. Good luck." Fox announced. Krystal batted her eyelashes. "Oh, brother." Fox sighed. The vixen sniggered, and took off in the direction of General Finzer's hideout. "Come on, Tricky. Let's go." The dino-fox team ran off into the sun.

Slippy grinned. "Let's work on this ship, Peppy. Come on, I'll sing a song" Peppy rolled his eyes, sighed in resignation, and trudged off towards the "Great Fox."


	3. Mount Trichur

Chapter 3: Mount Trichur

Tricky ran ahead of Fox, happy to be out of the Walled City. When he was ahead quite a ways, he turned around.

"Come on, Fox. At the rate you're going, I'll be ancient before we get to the top." Tricky quipped.

Fox glared at the EarthWalker. "Quit, young rip. I'm still older than you. Don't make me go ninja on you." Tricky laughed, and ran ahead. Fox trudged along, tired as anything. He hadn't had any sleep since the crash thirteen hours ago. His pace got slower and slower. Finally, Fox sank to his knees, and fell face first on the path. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

**************************

"Fox! Fox, wake up! Come on, wake up!" Tricky's voice cut into Fox's wonderful dream of the look on Scales's face when he was vaporized. Turning over, Fox looked up into the eyes of Scales. At least, it looked like Scales. But the warlord was dead, wasn't he? Waking fully, he saw that it was one of the Dino Warriors that had carried out Scales's orders. There were distinct differences, though. For one thing, this Warrior had gills. It also had turquoise scales, instead of the traditional green. The hissing, fetid breath brought him back to the situation at hand. The DW had a flaming staff held high and aimed straight at Fox's heart. _Whoosh! _The staff flew down, and Fox rolled out of the way just in time. He tried to draw his Kazan Staff, but the DW swiped it away from him. The Staff flew through the air and extended, landing and burying itself deep into the earth. The other's staff was up high again, and Fox lashed out, striking the DW across the face. His paw made three deep cuts, and blood welled out, temporarily blinding his foe.

Fox took this opportunity to race across the path, grab the Kazan and pull it free from the dirt. He advanced on the Warrior, wary of the dinosaur. The DW had wiped the blood away and grabbed his staff. They circled each other like birds of prey, both waiting for a moment of weakness in the other. The DW staggered, and Fox was on him in a flash. He pulled every trick he knew, from the Katarin Falset to the Rihandi Twist. The DW finally fell, panting and drawing ragged breaths.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" Fox questioned.

"I am one of the Threskal Kai, of General Finzer. He sent me to stop you from getting to the top. He does not want you to get the Trekarian Flower." The Threskal spat. "I may have failed, but Cercaria will stop you."

"What?! Who is Cercaria?" But it was useless. The Threskal lay on the path, limp as a soggy strand of hair. Fox glowered at nothing in particular. He did not know who Cercaria was, but he assumed it was dangerous. Tricky stood farther down the path.

"Come on, Fox. I think we're almost there. Look, there's the entrance to the cave where the Trekarian Flower grows."

Fox and Tricky clambered up the rocky slope leading to the cave. They arrived at the cave, and looked around.

"Is that the Trekarian Flower?" Fox asked Tricky. Tricky nodded. Fox started forward, but stopped when he heard a roar. It was a roar like none other. Turning around, Fox saw the biggest thing he had ever seen.

"Well," Fox said, "I guess we've found out why the Trekarian Flower is still a legend."


End file.
